Successful outcomes in vocational education and training courses : how pedagogy and expectations influence achievement

This paper reports on a four year Australian Research Council funded Linkage Project titled Skilling Indigenous Queensland, conducted in regional areas of Queensland, Australia from 2009 to 2013. The project sought to investigate vocational education, training (VET) and teaching, Indigenous learners’ needs, employer cultural and expectations and community culture and expectations to identify best practice in numeracy teaching for Indigenous VET learners. Specifically it focused on ways to enhance the teaching and learning of courses and the associated mathematics in such courses to benefit learners and increase their future opportunities of employment. To date thirty-nine teachers/trainers/teacher aides and two hundred and thirty-one students consented to participate in the project. Nine VET courses were nominated to be the focus on the study. This paper focuses on questionnaire and interview responses from four trainers, two teacher aides and six students. In recent years a considerable amount of funding has been allocated to increasing Indigenous Peoples’ participation in education and employment. This increased funding is predicated on the assumption that it will make a difference and contribute to closing the education gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians (Council of Australia Governments, 2009). The central tenet is that access to education for Indigenous People will create substantial social and economic benefits for regional and remote Indigenous People. The project’s aim is to address some of the issues associated with the gap. To achieve the aims, the project adopted a mixed methods design aimed at benefitting research participants and included: participatory collaborative action research (Kemmis & McTaggart, 1988) and, community research (Smith, 1999). Participatory collaborative action research refers to a is a “collective, self-reflective enquiry undertaken by participants in social situations in order to improve the rationality and justice of their own social and educational practices” (Kemmis et al., 1988, p. 5). Community research is described as an approach that “conveys a much more intimate, human and self-defined space” (p. 127). Community research relies on and validates the community’s own definitions. As the project is informed by the social at a community level, it is described as “community action research or emancipatory research” (Smith, 1999, p. 127). It seeks to demonstrate benefit to the community, making positive differences in the lives of Indigenous People and communities. The data collection techniques included survey questionnaires, video recording of teaching and learning processes, teacher reflective video analysis of teaching, observations, semi-structured interviews and student numeracy testing. As a result of these processes, the findings indicate that VET course teachers work hard to adopt contextualising strategies to their teaching, however this process is not always straight forward because of the perceptions of how mathematics has been taught and learned historically. Further teachers, trainers and students have high expectations of one another with the view to successful outcomes from the courses.

Work-integrated learning courses : an essential component for preparing students to work in statutory child protection?

Undergraduate programs can play an important role in the development of individuals wanting professional employment within statutory child protection agencies: both the coursework and the work-integrated learning (WIL) components of degrees have a role in this process. This paper uses a collective case study methodology to examine the perceptions and experiences of first year practitioners within a specific statutory child protection agency in order to identify if they felt prepared for their current role. The sample of 20 participants came from a range of discipline backgrounds with just over half of the sample (55 per cent) completing a WIL placement as part of their undergraduate studies. The results indicate that while some participants were able to identify and articulate specific benefits from their undergraduate coursework studies all participants who had undertaken a WIL placement as part of their degree believed the WIL placement was beneficial for their current work.

Pedagogy and community engagement in environmental design courses

This article describes an evaluation of student experiences in environmental design courses with a community engagement focus. It aims to identify pedagogical approaches that minimize obstacles faced by students while maximizing learning opportunities. Focus groups composed of undergraduate students in seven classes generated three major findings: (1) learning how to effectively engage with community partners is one of the most beneficial challenges of this type of course; (2) logistical hurdles and course characteristics that limited students’ ability to connect with the community partners or synthesize the social, emotional, technical, and theoretical aspects of the course were perceived as learning obstacles; and (3) social and emotional connections with community partners are the most educationally significant part of the experience for students. The conclusion discusses recommendations for how environmental design instructors can take advantage of the unique social and emotional connections with community partners that facilitated community engagement can foster, while limiting the learning obstacles that students may experience. Areas for future research

Too many cooks? Co-creating and co-teaching studio courses in the creative media context : a career-focussed approach

This Case Study relates to the creation and implementation of career‐focussed courses in Creative Media for film, television, animation, broadcast and web contexts. The paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of co‐teaching, and how different professional and academic backgrounds and disciplines can productively inform curriculum design and delivery in the academic/professional context. The authors, as co‐creators and co‐lecturers, have developed a number of courses which represent current working models for intermediate to advanced level academic/professional study, and attract students from across the creative disciplines; including theatre, media, visual arts and music. These courses are structured to develop in students a wide range of aesthetic and technical skills, as well as their ability to apply those skills professionally within and across the creative media industries. Issues regarding the balance between academic rigour, practical hands‐on skill development, assessment, logistics, resources, teamwork and other issues, are examined in the paper.

Starting out in STEM : a study of young men and women in first year science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses

In late 2011, first year university students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses across Australia were invited to participate in the international Interests and Recruitment in Science (IRIS) study. IRIS investigates the influences on young people's decisions to choose university STEM courses and their subsequent experiences of these courses. The study also has a particular focus on the motivations and experiences of young women in courses such as physics, IT and engineering given the low rates of female participation in these fields. Around 3500 students from 30 Australian universities contributed their views on the relative importance of various school and non-school influences on their decisions, as well as insights into their experiences of university STEM courses so far. It is hoped that their contributions will help improve recruitment, retention and gender equity in STEM higher education and careers.

Successful outcomes in vocational education and training courses and mathematics: how pedagogy and expectations influence achievement

This paper reports on a four year Australian Research Council funded Linkage Project titled Skilling Indigenous Queensland, conducted in regional areas of Queensland, Australia from 2009 to 2013. The project sought to investigate Vocational Education and Training (VET) and teaching, Indigenous learners’ needs, employer culture and expectations and community culture and expectations to identify best practice in numeracy teaching for Indigenous VET learners. Specifically it focused on ways to enhance the teaching and learning of courses and the associated mathematics in such courses to benefit learners and increase their future opportunities of employment. To date thirty - nine teachers/trainers/teacher aides and two hundred and thirty - one students consented to participate in the project. Nine VET courses offered in schools and Technical and Further Education Institutes (TAFE) were nominated to be the focus on the study. This paper focuses on student questionnaire responses and interview responses from teachers/trainers one high school principal and five students as a result of these processes, the findings indicated that VET course teachers work hard to adopt contextualising strategies to their teaching; however this process is not always straight forward because of the perceptions of how mathematics has been taught and learned by trainers and teachers. Further teachers, trainers and students have high expectations of one another with the view to successful outcomes from the courses.

Promoting resilience and effective workplace functioning in international students in health courses

The purpose of this project was to improve the quality of the learning experiences of international students in nursing, public health and nutrition and dietetics, both at university and in the clinical setting. The university worked in partnership with three major metropolitan health care facilities/services in Queensland to develop a framework and resources designed to promote quality work-integrated learning experiences for international students and clinical supervisory staff. The Resilience in International Student Education (RISE) model consists of student and staff workshops complemented by a purpose-built Cultural Connections for Learning (CCL) website that provides access to a wide variety of information and other learning resources. Quantitative and qualitative evaluations indicate that the approach is highly valued by participants as it promotes useful dialogue, sharing of experiences and greater understanding regarding quality learning experiences for international students in the health workplace. It provides an ideal springboard for promoting collaboration between international students and clinical supervisors in the workplace. The resources developed have the potential to enhance student learning as well as clinical teaching. The challenge will be to achieve continued progress within international student education through the development of sustainable strategies to embed the program within the context of individual curricula.

Planes, trains, automobiles and the action per quod servitium amisit

The action per quod servitium amisit compensates an employer for the loss of an employee’s services, where such loss is caused due to the commission of a tort by a third party which injures the employee. Although not commonly pleaded, such actions often arise when employees are harmed due to transportation accidents. For example, where allowed, physical injury caused by the negligent driving of automobiles, and the psychiatric injury suffered by an engine driver upon averting a collision with a motorcyclist crossing before an oncoming train...

Sex differences in the perceived value of outreach and museums/science centres in students' decisions to enrol in university science, technology and engineering courses

This paper reports a number of findings from the Interests and Recruitment in Science (IRIS) study carried out in Australia in 2011. The findings concern the perceptions of first year university students in science, technology and engineering courses about the influence of museums/science centres and outreach activities on their choice of course. The study found that STE students in general tended to rate museums/science centres as more important in their decisions than outreach activities. However, a closer examination showed that females in engineering courses were significantly more inclined to rate outreach activities as important than were males in engineering courses or females in other courses. The implications of this finding for strategies to encourage more young women into engineering are discussed.

Opportunities and challenges : combining distance and on-campus students in concurrent courses

Through its Electronic Delivery of Gator Engineering (EDGE) program, University of Florida (UF) offers online master’s degrees from participating departments within the UF College of Engineering. Each master’s degree requires 10 courses (3 credit hours each). One interesting and unique aspect of the EDGE pro-gram is that distance learners are registered concurrently in the same courses with traditional on-campus students. This paper examines the specific challenges involved in integrating distance students into on-campus courses, including communication, interaction, access to resources, and equal grading practices.

The importance of science fiction and other STEM-related mass media in young people’s decisions to enrol in university STEM courses

This paper presents Australian results from the Interests and Recruitment in Science (IRIS) study with respect to the influence of STEM-related mass media, including science fiction, on students’ decisions to enrol in university STEM courses. The study found that across the full cohort (N=2999), students tended to attribute far greater influence to science-related documentaries/channels such as Life on Earth and the Discovery Channel, etc. than to science-fiction movies or STEM-related TV dramas. Males were more inclined than females to consider science fiction/fantasy books and films and popular science books/magazines as having been important in their decisions. Students taking physics/astronomy tended to rate the importance of science fiction/fantasy books and films higher than students in other courses. The implications of these results for our understanding of influences on STEM enrolments are discussed.

Project-based civil engineering courses

Problem solving is an essential element of civil engineering education. It has been observed that students are best able to understand civil engineering theory when there is a practical application of it. Teaching theory alone has led to lower levels of comprehension and motivation and a correspondingly higher rate of failure and “drop-out”. This paper analyses the effectiveness of introducing practical design projects at an early stage within a civil engineering undergraduate program at Queensland University of Technology. In two of the essential basic subjects, Engineering Mechanics and Steel Structures, model projects which simulate realistic engineering exercises were introduced. Students were required to work in small groups to analyse, design and build the lightest / most efficient model bridges made of specific materials such as spaghetti, drinking straw, paddle pop sticks and balsa wood and steel columns for a given design loading/target capacity. The paper traces the success of the teaching strategy at each stage from its introduction through to the final student and staff evaluation.

A review of: "Wrong-Doing, Truth-Telling: The Function of Avowal in Justice. By Michel Foucault. Edited by Fabienne Brion and Bernard E. Harcourt. Translated by Stephen W. Sawyer"

Wrong-Doing, Truth-Telling: The Function of Avowal in Justice is a collection of seven lectures delivered by French philosopher and historian Michel Foucault at the Catholic University of Louvain in 1981. Compiled from audiovisual recordings and Foucault’s original manuscripts, these lectures explore the notion of avowal and its place within criminal justice processes. Accompanied by three contemporaneous interviews given by Foucault (only one of which has previously been available in English), and a preface and concluding essay by the editors contextualizing these lectures in Foucault’s oeuvre, this volume contributes much to Foucaultian scholarship, particularly when considered alongside the recently published volumes of Foucault’s lecture courses at the Collège de France. However, while the book promises to offer some insights of relevance to criminology, it is important to remember that this is not its key purpose, and criminologists should read it with this caveat in mind...

Nutritional impact of antipseudomonas intravenous antibiotic courses in cystic fibrosis

Editor,—In their study of cystic fibrosis patients who were nutritionally assessed at the start and end of a 14 day period of home intravenous antibiotic treatment for chest disease, Vicet al concluded that increased weight was a result of increased fat storage.1 While this may in part be true, their methodology dictates caution in drawing conclusions....